This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
While current vehicle safety systems are suitable to protect vehicle occupants in the event of a collision, they are subject to improvement. For example, improved methods and systems would be desirable for distinguishing between, and customizing vehicle safety systems for responding to: a front head-on impact in which most if not all impact force is at or proximate to a front center portion of the vehicle; and a front small overlap impact in which most if not all impact force is offset from the front center portion of the vehicle. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently started front small overlap impact crash tests, and rating vehicles on their ability to withstand such crash tests. The present teachings advantageously address these and other needs in the art.